The provincial government has permitted the Alberta pharmacists to prescribe drugs and administer vaccines, without a doctor’s approval. But drugs under the narcotics category or addictive drugs will still need a doctor’s approval.
Now, beginning fall, pharmacists who have undergone a full-fledged training program can prescribe medicines for ailments like asthma and high blood pressure. This is slated to spruce up the health-care dispensing system, by making it efficient.Different schools of thought abound regarding how equipped the pharmacists will be to decide the drug, but opinion prevails, that pharmacists can decide in cases where the ailment will benefit from consultation with a doctor.
